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- Writer
- Soundtrack
Alexander Pope was born on 22 May 1688 in London, England, UK. Alexander was a writer, known for Acis and Galatea (2009). Alexander died on 30 May 1744 in Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK.- Music Department
Ram Mohan Roy was born on 22 May 1772 in Radhanagore, Hooghly, Bengal, British India. Ram Mohan is known for Charulata (1964). Ram Mohan died on 27 September 1833 in Stapleton, Bristol, England, UK.- Gérard de Nerval was born on 22 May 1808 in Paris, France. He was a writer, known for Carnival of Sinners (1943), La vraie histoire de Gérard Lechômeur (1982) and Drug-Taking and the Arts (1993). He died on 26 January 1855 in Paris, France.
- Music Department
- Writer
- Composer
Richard Wagner was a German composer best known for his operas, primarily the monumental four-opera cycle "Der Ring des Nibelungen". He was born Wilhelm Richard Wagner on May 22, 1813, in Leipzig, Germany. He was the ninth child in the family of Carl Wagner, a police clerk. Richard was only six months old when his father died, and he was brought up by his mother Johanna and stepfather Ludwig Geyer, an actor and playwright. Young Wagner studied piano from the age of 7 and soon developed ability to play by ear and improvise. At age 15 he wrote piano transcriptions of Ludwig van Beethoven's "9th Symphony" and orchestral overtures. He studied at the University of Leipzig, and also took composition and conducting lessons with the cantor of St. Thomas in Leipzig.
Wagner's early operas did not meet with success, leaving him in serious financial difficulties. From 1836-1839 he was a music director in Riga Opera, where his wife, Minna Planer, was a singer, and her extramarital escapades were the talk of the town. The Wagners amassed such significant debts that they had to escape from creditors and fled Riga. They spent 1840 and 1841 in London and Paris, where Richard worked as an arranger for other composers.
Giacomo Meyerbeer promoted Wagner's third opera, "Rienzi", to performance by the Dresden Court Theatre, where the opera was staged to considerable acclaim. In 1842 the Wagners moved to Dresden and lived there for six years. Eventually Richard was appointed the Royal Saxon Court Conductor. At that time he completed and staged "Der fliegende Hollander" (aka "The Flying Dutchman") and "Tannhauser".
Wagner was exposed to many conflicting political influences, ranging from Marxism and liberalism on the left to German nationalism on the right to the anarchism of Mikhail Bakunin. After the revolution of 1848-49, Wagner fled from Germany to Paris, then to Zurich, and found himself penniless, unemployed and depressed (he had also suffered from a severe skin infection for many years). At that time Wagner was unable to compose or perform music, and he expressed himself in writing essays: "The Art-Work of the Future", describing "Gesamtkunstwerk," or "total artwork" uniting opera, ballet, visual arts and stagecraft.
Wagner's four "Ring" operas gradually evolved, and he completed the libretto by 1852. Another year of suffering went by, until he began composing "Das Rheingold" (aka "The Rhine Gold") in November 1853, following it with "Die Walkure" (aka "The Valkyrie") in 1854. In 1856 he began work on "Siegfried", but put the unfinished opera aside and focused on his new idea: "Tristan und Isolde" (aka "Tristan and Isolde"), which was composed between 1857 and 1859. In 1861 Germany ended the political ban on Wagner, and in 1862 he ended his troubled marriage to Minna.
"Tristan and Isolde" was initially accepted for production in Vienna. The opera had over 70 rehearsals between 1861 and 1864, but remained unperformed and gained a reputation for being unplayable. The young Bavarian King Ludwig II, an admirer of Wagner's operas since his childhood, had settled the composer's debts and financed his opera productions. Finally "Tristan and Isolde" was produced in Munich, and premiered under the baton of Hans von Bulow in June 1865. It was the first Wagner premiere in 15 years.
Cosima von Bulow, the wife of the conductor, Hans von Bulow, and the eldest daughter of pianist/composer Franz Liszt, had an indiscreet affair with Wagner, and their illegitimate daughter, Isolde, was born in 1865. The affair scandalized Munich, and Wagner fell into disfavor among members of the court who were jealous of his friendship with the king. Ludwig was pressured to ask Wagner to leave Munich. However, from 1866 to 1872 the king placed Wagner and his family at Tribshen villa on Lake Luzern, Switzerland. There Richard married Cosime in August 1870. Inspired composer created one of his most beloved works, the "Siegfried Idyll" for 15 players, written as a gift to Cosima, and premiered on Christmas day, 1870.
In 1872 Wagner moved to Bayreuth with a plan that his "Ring" cycle to be performed in a new, specially designed opera house. King Ludwig supported the composer with another large grant in 1874, and the Wagners bought Villa Wahnfried and made permanent home in Bayreuth. In August 1876 the new opera "Festspielhaus" opened with the premiere of "The Ring" and has been the site of the Bayreuth Festival ever since.
Richard Wagner died of a heart attack on February 13, 1883, while wintering in Venice. He was laid to rest in the garden of his Villa Wahnfried in Bayreuth. The Wagner Museum in Lucerne, Switzerland, is now a museum of period musical instruments and art collection of the Wagner family. One room is dedicated to the history of the Wagner Festivals in Lucerne. The Wagner Museum allows visitors to take photos of the documents about the Wagner family's help to the Jewish musicians and intellectuals who fled the Nazi regime in the 1930s.
Documents reveal that the Wagner family were assisting Jewish musicians and intellectuals who fled the Nazi regime in finding employment in Switzerland and other lands, such as the USA and Palestine. Documents, photographs and letters illustrate the bold activity of Arturo Toscanini with Vladimir Horowitz and the Wagner family members in getting funds from the government of Benito Mussolini and using those funds to accommodate Jewish musicians and intellectuals under the umbrella of the annual Wagner Festival in Lucerne. The Wagner Festival Symphony Orchestra employed many Jewish musicians who later joined the Israel Philarmonic Orchestra (then known as the "Palestine Orchestra").- Catulle Mendès was born on 22 May 1841 in Bordeaux, Gironde, France. Catulle was a writer, known for La grande Maguet (1947). Catulle was married to Jean Mette (poet) and Judith Louise Charlotte Ernestine Gautier. Catulle died on 7 February 1909 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Franche-Comté, France.
- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
Arthur Conan Doyle was a British writer of Irish descent, considered a major figure in crime fiction. His most famous series of works consisted of the "Sherlock Holmes" stories (1887-1927), consisting of four novels and 56 short stories. His other notable series were the "Professor Challenger" stories (1912-1929) about a scientist and explorer, and the "Brigadier Gerard" stories (1894-1910) about a French soldier in the Napoleonic Wars. Doyle's literary works have frequently been adapted into film and television.
In 1859, Doyle was born in Edinburgh, Scotland to an Irish Catholic family. His father was Charles Altamont Doyle (1832 - 1893), a professional illustrator and water-colorist who is primarily remembered for fantasy-style paintings. Doyle's mother was Mary Foley (1837-1920). Through his father, Doyle was a nephew of the antiquarian James William Edmund Doyle (1822 - 1892), the illustrator Richard Doyle (1824-1883), and the gallery director Henry Edward Doyle (1827 -1893). Doyle's paternal grandfather was the political cartoonist and caricaturist John Doyle (1797-1868).
During his early years, Doyle's family had financial problems due to his father's struggles with depression and alcoholism. They received financial support from affluent uncles, who also financed Doyle's education. From 1868 to 1870, Doyle was educated at Hodder Place, a Jesuit preparatory school located at Stonyhurst, Lancashire. From 1870 to 1875, Doyle attended Stonyhurst College, a Roman Catholic boarding school. He disliked the school due to its rather limited curriculum, and the constant threats of corporal punishment and ritual humiliation used to discipline students.
From 1875 to 1876, Doyle received further education at Stella Matutina, a Jesuit school located at Feldkirch, Austria. His family wanted him to perfect his use of the German language, but this school offered a wider range of study subjects. Stella Matutina attracted student from many countries, and was more cosmopolitan in nature than Doyle's previous schools.
Doyle decided to follow a medical career. From 1876 to 1881, Doyle studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh Medical School. He also took botany lessons at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh. During his university years, Doyle started writing short stories. He had trouble finding a publisher, and "Blackwood's Magazine" (1817-1980) rejected his submitted work. Doyle's first published short story was "The Mystery of Sasassa Valley" (1879), featuring a demon in South Africa. That same year, Doyle published his first academic article in a science journal. The article examined the uses of the flowering plant Gelsemium as a poison. As an experiment, Doyle self-administrated doses of the poison and recorded the symptoms.
In 1880, Doyle worked for a while as a doctor in the whaling ship "Hope". In 1881, following his graduation from medical school, Doyle served as a ship's surgeon on the SS Mayumba. In 1882, Doyle and a former classmate established a medical practice in Plymouth, Devon. Their partnership failed, and Doyle soon started his own practice in Southsea, Hampshire. He did not have many patients, so he decided to resume writing fiction to supplement his income.
In 1886, Doyle created the character of Sherlock Holmes. He loosely based his creation on his former college teacher Joseph Bell (1837 - 1911), inspired by Bell's emphasis on the importance of "deduction and inference and observation". Doyle completed the first Holmes novel, "A Study in Scarlet" (1887), and sold the rights to the publishing house "Ward, Lock & Co." (1854-1964). The novel's publication was delayed until November, 1887, but it was well-received by professional critics.
Doyle next completed the sequel novel "The Sign of the Four" (1890), commissioned from the American literary magazine Lippincott's Monthly Magazine (1868-1915). He started writing short stories about Holmes for the British literary magazine "The Strand Magazine" (1891-1950).
Besides Holmes stories, Doyle wrote seven historical novels between 1888 and 1906. He wrote "Micah Clarke" (1889), as a fictionalized account of the Monmouth Rebellion (1685) and its consequences. The novel also voices Doyle's arguments against religious extremism. He wrote "The White Company" (1891) to examine the role of mercenaries in 14th-century warfare, depicting the campaigns of Edward the Black Prince (1330-1376) in the Kingdom of Castile. He wrote "The Great Shadow" (1892) to feature the experiences of soldiers in the Battle of Waterloo (1815). He wrote "The Refugees" (1893) to examine the fates of Huguenot refugees who were fleeing 17th-century France to escape religious persecution by Louis XIV (1638-1715, reigned 1643-1715). He wrote "Sir Nigel" (1906) to examine the early phases of the Hundred Years' War (1337 - 1453). He regarded these novels to be his best literary work, though they were never as popular as his crime novels.
In 1900, Doyle served as a volunteer doctor in the Second Boer War in South Africa (1899-1902), though he had no previous military experience. He was stationed at a field hospital at Bloemfontein. At about this time, Doyle wrote the non-fiction book "The Great Boer War" (1900), which covered in detail the early phases of the war. He also wrote the companion work "The War in South Africa: Its Cause and Conduct" in order to defend the British Empire from accusations of misconduct in its military efforts. These works were translated in multiple languages, and were appreciated by the British government. For his services to the British Empire, Doyle was knighted in 1902. In 1903, Doyle became a knight of the Order of Saint John, a British royal order of chivalry that was based on the original Knights Hospitaller.
In 1906, Doyle was involved in efforts to exonerate the lawyer George Edalji, a mild-mannered man who had been convicted of animal mutilations on insufficient evidence. Doyle helped publicize other instances of miscarriages of justice, and convinced the public that there was need of reforms in the legal system. In 1907, British authorities reacted to this campaign by establishing the Court of Criminal Appeal.
In 1909, Doyle wrote the non-fiction work "The Crime of the Congo" (1909). In the book, Doyle denounced the human rights abuses in the Congo Free State, and claimed that the Belgian colonial forces had enslaved the local population. He quoted testimonies from many witnesses and tried to convince the public of a need to intervene in the area.
World War I (1914-1918) was a difficult time for Doyle , as several of his relatives and friends died due to the war. Doyle's son Kingsley was seriously wounded in the Battle of the Somme (1916), and never fully recovered. Kingsley died of pneumonia in 1918, while still hospitalized. Doyle's brother, Brigadier-general Innes Doyle, died of pneumonia in 1919. Doyle's brother-in-law, the famous author E. W. Hornung, died of pneumonia in 1921. The series of deaths led Doyle to further embrace Spiritualism, and that faith's claims about existence beyond the grave. He spend much of the 1920s as a missionary of Spiritualism, and investigated supposed supernatural phenomena. He also wrote many non-fiction spiritualist works. In 1926, Doyle financed the construction of a Spiritualist Temple in Camden, London.
In July 1930, Doyle suffered a heart attack while staying in his then-residence, Windlesham Manor, in Crowborough, Sussex. He spend his last moments in reassuring his wife Jean Leckie that she was wonderful. He was 71-years-old at the time of his death. He was survived by two sons and two daughters. His daughter Jean Conan Doyle (1912 - 1997) was the copyright holder of much of her father's works until her own death.
Since Doyle was no longer a Christian at the time of his death, his family declined giving him a Christian burial place. Doyle was buried in Windlesham Manor's rose garden. His remains were later re-interred in Minstead churchyard, New Forest, Hampshire. His wife's remains were buried beside him. His gravestone epitaph described him as "Steel true/Blade straight/Arthur Conan Doyle/Knight/Patriot, Physician and man of letters".
Doyle is long gone, but his works have remained popular into the 21st century. Doyle has been cited as an influence on later crime writers, and Agatha Christie's earliest novels were strongly influenced by Sherlock Holmes' stories. His life's events have inspired several biographies, and a number of fictionalized accounts.- William Holden was born on 22 May 1862 in Rochester, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Weary River (1929), Dance, Fools, Dance (1931) and Holiday (1930). He was married to Louise Osborne. He died on 3 March 1932 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Enric Morera was born on 22 May 1865 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. He was a composer, known for L'auca del senyor Esteve (1929), TNC Digital: L'Emperadriu del Paral·lel (2021) and La sardanista (1923). He died on 12 March 1942 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.- Joseph A. Mitchell was born on 22 May 1866 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He was a writer, known for Sherlock Jr. (1924), The Navigator (1924) and Our Hospitality (1923). He died on 21 April 1950 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Ilya Lvovich ("son of Leo") Tolstoy was the 3rd child of the world-famous Russian writer and philosopher Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), from the latter's 48-year marriage to Sonya Behrs, a marriage which produced 13 children in all. Although 5 of the Tolstoys' children died at birth or in infancy, the other 8 (including Ilya) survived to adulthood, and had careers which took them in many different directions. Ilya worked as a journalist, migrated to the USA in 1918 (around the time of the Russian Revolution), and had a motley career in the States. He did some journalism, including writings about his famous father in Russia, and served as a consultant on a few Hollywood films with Russian themes, including "Resurrection" and "Love" (1927). In one film Ilya Tolstoy even appeared briefly playing the role of his own father Leo Tolstoy. He died in poverty in a New York hospital in 1933. Ilya Lvovich Tolstoy's children were: Anna (1888- ), Mikhail (1893-1919), Andrei (1895-1920), Ilya Jr. (1896- ), and Vera (1898- ).- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Charles M. Seay was born on 22 May 1867 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He was a director and writer, known for Jan of the Big Snows (1922), The Everlasting Triangle (1914) and The Missing Twenty-Five Dollars (1914). He was married to Grace Beatrice Ballou. He died on 12 November 1944 in Palestine, Texas, USA.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Romaine Fielding was born on 22 May 1868 in Riceville, Mitchell County, Iowa, USA. He was an actor and director, known for A Dash for Liberty (1913), Hiawanda's Cross (1913) and The Eagle's Nest (1915). He was married to Joan Arliss and Mabel van Valkenburg. He died on 15 December 1927 in Hollywood, California, USA.- An African-American veteran performer who struggled in vain to build a film career following a top role in an early all-black musical, Fannie Belle DeKnight found herself in a dead end situation trapped in an unflattering, stereotyped role and her film career went nowhere. Best known for her benevolent, upbeat character of Mammy in the King Vidor musical Hallelujah (1929), the first all-black feature film, she made only one more film, the musical short A Rhapsody in Black and Blue (1932) starring Louis Armstrong.
She was born Fannie Belle Johnson in Richmond, Virginia on May 22, 1869, during the "Reconstruction" period following the Civil War. Her parents, Frank and Purie Johnson, encouraged her interest in the arts and she grew in popularity singing and performing in church socials and amateur theatre shows. She wound up marrying her pianist Samuel Knight, a Barbados-born musician, in 1896. The couple toured together and she eventually changed her stage name in consideration.
The Texas-born Vidor cast her in her most famous support role (she is billed here as Fanny Belle DeKnight) in 1928 after seeing her in a couple of concert performances. Co-starring Nina Mae McKinney and Daniel L. Haynes and with a 20s flavor, this spiritual film focuses on the toils of a black family living on a cotton plantation in the Deep South. When nothing came of her film career, Fannie and her husband continued to perform musically across the country in concert. She would also appear in short-runs on Broadway, including the drama "Taboo" (1922), "Lulu Belle" (1926) and "Carry Nation" (1932).
The couple eventually retired their act and settled in her native Richmond in later years. She was a widow by the time she died tragically on April 28, 1950, at age 81, after her clothes accidentally caught fire at home from a kitchen wood stove. She was buried in the Woodland Cemetery in Richmond. - D.F. Malan was born on 22 May 1874 in Riebeek West, Cape Colony. He died on 7 February 1959.
- Actor
- Editor
Jack Gardner was born on 22 May 1876 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor and editor, known for Wild Bill Hickok (1923), Scarlet Seas (1928) and The Land of Long Shadows (1917). He died on 28 December 1929 in Glendale, California, USA.- Leonor Acevedo Suárez was born on 22 May 1876 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Vladimír Smíchovský was born on 22 May 1876 in Prague, Cechy, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for Batalión (1937), Batalion (1927) and Workers, Let's Go (1934). He died on 2 February 1943 in Prague, Protektorát Cechy a Morava [now Czech Republic].
- Ernest Mainwaring was born on 22 May 1876 in East Grinstead, Sussex, England, UK. He was an actor, known for First Night (1937). He was married to Caroline Lavinia Keeler. He died on 22 October 1941 in Hampstead, London, England, UK.
- Director
- Writer
- Actor
David Burton was born on 22 May 1877 in Odessa, Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire [now Ukraine]. He was a director and writer, known for The Melody Lingers On (1935), Sinners in the Sun (1932) and Let's Fall in Love (1933). He died on 30 December 1963 in New York City, New York, USA.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
The grand, highly flamboyant Russian star Alla Nazimova of Hollywood silent films lived an equally grand, flamboyant life off-camera, though her legendary status has not held up as firmly as that of a Rudolph Valentino today.
Alla Nazimova was born Miriam Edez Adelaida Leventon in 1879, in Yalta, Crimea, in the Russian Empire, to Jewish parents, Sonya Horowitz and Yakov Leventon. She was the third child in an abusive, contentious household. Most of her sad childhood was spent in foster homes or in the care of other relatives and she showed a strong penchant for outrageous behavior to cope. Nazimova also showed a great aptitude for music at a young age and began violin lessons at age seven. She changed her name to Alla Nazimova when she began appearing on stage--her father insisted on it, as "performing" was not considered respectable at the time.
She began acting lessons at age 17 and joined Konstantin Stanislavski's company of actors as a pupil of his "method style" at the Moscow Art Theatre. During that time she supported herself by being kept by rich, older men. A failed love affair led to her only marriage, to an acting student named Sergei Golovin, but they separated quickly. She grew discontented with Stanislavsky and later performed in repertory. She met the legendary Pavel Orlenev, a close friend of Anton Chekhov and Maxim Gorky, and entered into both a personal and professional relationship with him. They toured internationally throughout Europe with great success and came to New York in 1905, where Nazimova was saluted on Broadway for her definitive interpretations of Henrik Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler" and "A Doll's House." Orlenev returned to Russia but Nazimova stayed.
She made her screen debut with War Brides (1916), which was initially a 35-minute play. By 1918 she was a box-office star for Metro Pictures and completed 11 films for the studio over a three-year period. A torrid, stylish and rather outré tragedienne who played exotic, liberal women confronted by great personal anguish, she earned personal successes as a reformed prostitute in Revelation (1918), a suicide in Toys of Fate (1918) and dual roles as half-sisters during the Boxer Rebellion in The Red Lantern (1919), not to mention the title role of Camille (1921) with Rudolph Valentino. At the same time she maintained a strong Broadway theatrical career.
In accordance with her rise in the film industry, she began producing her own efforts, which were bold and experimental--and monumental failures, although they are hailed as great artistic efforts today. Her Salomé (1922) was quite scandalous and deemed a failure at the time. The monetary losses she suffered as producer were astronomical. The Hays Code, which led to severe censorship in pictures, also led to her downfall, as did her outmoded acting style. She was forced to abandon films for the theater, scoring exceptionally well in Anton Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard." She did return to films briefly in the 1940s in a variety of supporting roles, but she made these solely for the money.
Nazimova's private life has long been the subject of industry gossip. As a Hollywood cover to her well-known bisexual lifestyle, she coexisted in a "marriage" with gay actor Charles Bryant for well over a decade. Her "Garden of Allah" home was the centerpiece for many glamorous private parties. She died in 1945.- Producer
- Additional Crew
Greek-born film producer Anthony J. Xydias got his start in the movie industry in 1909, when he opened up a theater in Dallas, TX. It was successful and it wasn't long before he had a string of theaters. In 1922 he decided to get into film production and started Sunset Productions, which specialized in low-budget westerns. His first "star" was cowboy actor Jack Hoxie. His films, while short-running and inexpensive, nonetheless proved successful, and Hoxie soon left for greener pastures--the much greener, and much bigger, ones at Universal Pictures.
Xydias elevated character player Kenneth MacDonald to replace Hoxie, but his pictures flopped and he was soon booted in favor of J.B. Warner, an actual cowboy from Nebraska. Warner made six pictures for Sunset before unfortunately dying from leukemia. Xydias apparently gave up on trying to groom a star for his westerns and decided to make a series of pictures about famous western figures from America's past: Buffalo Bill, George Custer, Daniel Boone, and others. While none would compete with the spectacles put out by Cecil B. DeMille, they were a notch or two above the flood of cheap, mostly inept westerns being churned out by many low-buck producers of that era.
Ill health forced Xydias' retirement in 1931, but he came back six years later with promises of producing a string of more "historical" westerns. Unfortunately, the only one he managed to turn out was Heroes of the Alamo (1937), a shoddy "epic" that turned off critics and audiences alike. He retired from the business after the failure of this film. In 1941 he was in the Philippines on a business trip when the country was invaded by Japanese forces. Xydias was captured and interned in a prison camp for the duration of the war.
He died in Los Angeles, CA, in 1952.- Arthur Hunter was born on 22 May 1879 in Russia. He was an actor, known for Traffic in Souls (1913). He died on 12 April 1931 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.
- Francis de Miomandre was born on 22 May 1880 in Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France. Francis was a writer, known for La cabane d'amour (1923). Francis died on 1 August 1959 in Saint-Quay-Portrieux, Côtes-d'Armor, France.
- Director
- Actor
Richard Weichert was born on 22 May 1880 in Berlin, Germany. He was a director and actor, known for Zwei Krawatten (1930) and Comradeship (1931). He died on 15 November 1961 in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany.- Eric Maxon was born on 22 May 1882 in Balham, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for After Dark (1915) and Richard III (1911). He died in 1963 in Finsbury, London, England, UK.
- Helena Monczáková was born on 22 May 1882 in Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for At zije neboztík (1935), Vendelínuv ocistec a ráj (1930) and Prazské svadlenky (1929). She died on 11 November 1958 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic].
- Jane Grey was born on 22 May 1883 in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. She was an actress, known for The Little Gray Lady (1914), Her Fighting Chance (1917) and The Waifs (1916). She was married to Hugh Whitfield Martin (aka Riccardo Martin) and William E. Tyrrel. She died on 9 November 1944 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Carl Geppert was born on 22 May 1883 in Hungary. He was an actor and writer, known for The Beggar from Cologne Cathedral (1927), Das sonnige Märchen vom Glück (1924) and Trick-Track (1921). He died on 23 October 1937 in Hungary.
- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Nicholas Dunaew was born on 22 May 1884 in Moscow, Russia. He was an actor and writer, known for Siberia (1926), My Official Wife (1914) and Two Arabian Knights (1927). He was married to Nina Byron and Edith Donnerberg. He died in 1963 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA.- Irén Csáki was born on 22 May 1884 in Budapest, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]. She was an actress, known for Egy csók története (1912). She died on 15 May 1968 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Lionel Bevans was born on 22 May 1885 in London, England, UK. He was a writer. He was married to Hilda Plowright and Viola Roache. He died on 17 February 1965 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- József Medgyessy was born on 22 May 1885 in Tamási, Hungary. He is known for Három csengö (1941), Tilos a szerelem (1943) and Nemes Rózsa (1943).
- Ada Gifford was born on 22 May 1885 in Rahway, New Jersey, USA. She is known for A Florida Enchantment (1914), Stage Struck (1914) and Local Color (1914).
- Pauline Bush was born on 22 May 1886 in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. She was an actress, known for A Mountain Melody (1915), The Recognition (1912) and Richelieu (1914). She was married to Allan Dwan. She died on 1 November 1969 in San Diego, California, USA.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Rube Miller was born on 22 May 1886 in Trottwood, Ohio, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Shy Thirty Cents (1916), Someone in the House (1920) and Whitewashing William (1915). He died on 1 April 1927 in Mexico City, Mexico.- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Jim Thorpe is an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. Thorpe became the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United States. Considered one of the most versatile athletes of modern sports, he won Olympic gold medals in the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon, and played American football (collegiate and professional), baseball, and basketball. He lost his Olympic titles after it was found he had been paid for playing two seasons of semi-professional baseball before competing in the Olympics, thus violating the amateurism rules that were then in place. In 1983, 30 years after his death, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) restored his Olympic medals.
Jim Thorpe grew up in Oklahoma, and attended Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he was a two-time All-American for the school's football team. After his Olympic success in 1912, which included a record score in the decathlon, he added a victory in the All-Around Championship of the Amateur Athletic Union. In 1913, Thorpe signed with The New York Giants Baseball Team, and he played six seasons in Major League Baseball between 1913 and 1919. Thorpe joined the Canton Bulldogs American football team in 1915, helping them win three professional championships; he later played for six teams in the National Football League (NFL). He played as part of several all-American Indian teams throughout his career, and barnstormed as a professional basketball player with a team composed entirely of American Indians.
From 1920 to 1921, Thorpe was nominally the first president of the American Professional Football Association (APFA), which became the NFL in 1922. He played professional sports until age 41. He struggled to earn a living after that, working several odd jobs. He was married three times and had eight children, before suffering from heart failure and dying in 1953.
Thorpe has received various accolades for his athletic accomplishments. The Associated Press named him the "greatest athlete" from the first 50 years of the 20th century, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame inducted him as part of its inaugural class in 1963. A Pennsylvania town was named in his honor and a monument site there is the site of his remains. Thorpe appeared in several films and was portrayed by Burt Lancaster in the film Jim Thorpe -- All-American (1951).- Director
- Writer
- Cinematographer
A.W. Sandberg was born on 22 May 1887 in Viborg, Denmark. He was a director and writer, known for 7-9-13 (1934), Manden med de ni Fingre III (1916) and Manden med de ni Fingre IV (1916). He was married to Else Frölich, Karen Caspersen and Ruth Jacobsen. He died on 27 March 1938 in Bad Nauheim, Hesse, Germany.- Arthur Cravan was born on 22 May 1887 in Lausanne, Switzerland. He died in November 1918 in Off the coast of Mexico.
- Juan Ortiz was born on 22 May 1887 in Maine, USA. He was an actor, known for Claudina's Troubles (1940) and El jugador de golf (1930). He died on 3 February 1960 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- David Hawthorne was born on 22 May 1888 in Kettering, Northamptonshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Rob Roy (1922), His House in Order (1928) and The Life of Lord Byron (1922). He died on 18 June 1942 in Folkestone, Kent, England, UK.
- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Alfred Ortlieb was born on 22 May 1888 in Ivry Seine, France. He is known for The Thirteenth Chair (1919), The White Circle (1920) and Lover's Island (1925).- Max Johnson was born on 22 May 1888 in Indiana, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Nobody's Children (1920). He died on 2 March 1950 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
- Janka Sásdi Schack was born on 22 May 1888 in Pozsony, Austria-Hungary [now Bratislava, Slovakia]. She was a composer, known for Machita (1944). She died in 1947 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Gwen Burroughs was born on 22 May 1888 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. She was an actress, known for For Australia (1915). She died on 2 April 1968 in Kensington, London, England, UK.
- Sophus Bernhard was born on 22 May 1888 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was an actor, known for Manden med de ni Fingre V (1917), Kammerpigen (1918) and Manden med Arret (1918). He died on 7 October 1963.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Hugh Miller was born on 22 May 1889 in Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Doctor Zhivago (1965), Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and The Divine Spark (1935). He was married to Olga Katzin. He died on 1 November 1976 in St. Pancras, London, England, UK.- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Composer, songwriter ("Tiger Rag", "Clarinet Marmalade"), trombonist, and a violinist in theatres and film orchestras, and later a trombonist in marching bands. He came to Chicago in 1916 with Johnny Stein's Jass (sic) Band, and later he played with Nick La Rocca, Larry Shields, Henry Ragas and Tony Sbarbaro, then founded the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. During World War I, he served in the US Army, then organized a band at Silver Slipper, New York. In the 1930s and 1940s, he played in society orchestras, then he reorganized the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, and toured with Katherine Dunham, later forming his own jazz sextet. Joining ASCAP in 1953, his other popular-song and instrumental compositions include "Fidgety Feet" and "Livery Stable Blues".- Writer
- Soundtrack
The author and politician Johannes R. Becher was born on 22nd May 1891 And attended school in Munich, Göttingen and Ingolstadt. In 1910 he tried unsuccessfully to commit suicide. From 1911-1918, he studied Philology, Philosophy and Medicine in Munich, Jena and Berlin. After this period he became a member of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). In 1932 he was a candidate for parliament for the Communists. After the seizure of power of the Hitler-gang he left Germany first to Prague then Paris, later Moscow. In 1934 he lost his German nationality. After the war he came back to Germany. In 1949 he wrote the text for the East German national anthem. In 1950 he was one of the founders of the Academy of Arts and Member of the East German parliament. In 1953-56 he was president of the Academy of Arts (he followed Arnold Zweig), a nd from 1954-58 he was Minister for Culture. In 1957 he lost all his political power and died in 1958.- Juan Calvo was born on 22 May 1892 in Onteniente, Valencia, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain. He was an actor, known for The Miracle of Marcelino (1955), The Rocket from Calabuch (1956) and Tosca (1941). He died on 7 March 1962 in Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
- Joe Madden was born on 22 May 1892 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Putney Swope (1969), Harry and Tonto (1974) and The Landlord (1970). He died in August 1979 in New York City, New York, USA.